Excelsior
by lun27
Summary: Life had always been easy for Remus Lupin. That can be a difficult concept to grasp, considering that life had been anything but fair to him. The day it stopped being easy was the day he was almost caught by Death Eaters on a mission for the Order of the Phoenix. Or to be more accurate, it was the day Nymphadora Tonks decided to kiss him.


**This story is written for the Quidditch League Fanfiction Competition**

 **ROUND 5**

 **Wimbourne Wasps - BEATER 2**

Borrowed Inspiration

Use the title of a story written by your Beater 1 for inspiration: **Haunted Past**

Optional Prompts:

(quote) I loved you the same way I learned to ride a bike- scared, but reckless. - Rudy Francisco

(idiom) every cloud has a silver lining

 **::::::::::::**

 **Nautical 'Ship Challenge' by Verity Grahams**

S.S. Wotcher Wolvie - Nymphadora Tonks and Remus Lupin

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 **A/N: Word count is just under 3000 words according to Google docs!**

* * *

Life had always been easy for Remus Lupin. That can be a difficult concept to grasp, considering that life had been anything but fair to him. If you have no choices, there isn't much to fret over; it is as simple as that. You just do what is laid out for you and are thankful for every good thing that is handed to you.

Remus wasn't one to complain, however. Complaining got you nowhere. That had been one of his first lessons in life. Not that anything else had ever gotten him anywhere either. Things just happened to him, no choice, no influence on the run of events.

The day it stopped being easy was the day he was almost caught by Death Eaters on a mission for the Order of the Phoenix.

Or to be more accurate, it was the day Nymphadora Tonks decided to kiss him.

* * *

Tonks winked at Remus as she entered the kitchen of number twelve, Grimmauld Place. Rounding the table, she plopped down beside him and nudged him with her elbow.

Remus raised an eyebrow at her while taking a sip from the tea Molly had placed in front of him.

"Don't look so grouchy, little wolf," Tonks said and proceeded to transform her face into a grim, hairy mess that only resembled a wolf if he squinted his eyes. Then she grinned, and the snout-like mouth pulled into a hilarious grimace. She raised her hands, which had sprouted yellowish claws, and threw back her head with a dorky expression. "RAWR!"

Remus coughed up his tea, wincing at the burning hot liquid he had swallowed in surprised laughter.

"That looks much better." She grinned at him, now again with her head of jarring pink hair and her usual face. "You look positively old when you have those sorrow wrinkles all over your face!"

"I am old, but I don't have wrinkles!"

"You do." She laughed, poking at the spot between his eyes where his eyebrows met all too often. "Right here."

He huffed, feeling heat spread over his cheeks. What did he care anyway? He had lived a rough life; he was bound to age faster than was natural. His face was etched with the sorrow of losing friends and fighting a never ending war. Tonks was too young to understand.

To his relief, Dumbledore entered at that moment and introduced their meeting with a brief summary of the current situation before moving on to next missions.

"Remus, I know we've been demanding a lot from you these last few months, but no one else could have provided us with such valuable information about the werewolves Voldemort has been recruiting."

"I am glad that I can help, Dumbledore." He truly was. Being able to work for the Order meant that he was needed, and it made him feel close to his lost friends. They had fought for a cause, and now that responsibility was left to him.

"I'm afraid we can't afford to let you rest even for a few days, Remus," Dumbledore said, his usually twinkling eyes assessing him with a grave seriousness.

Remus felt weary; his bones were still aching from the last months spent undercover with one of the werewolf packs Greyback was recruiting for Voldemort's army. It had been constant fighting, training and instructing newbies. Remus had been forced to kill more than once, every victim weighing on his conscience like sticky tar. Nevertheless, he squared his shoulders and gave Dumbledore a curt nod; he would never let the man down.

"Alastor?" Dumbledore invited the old Auror to come forward.

Mad-Eye got up, heavily leaning on his wooden staff to loom over them like a crooked, heavy-robed shadow. "As you all know, the Auror department has limited resources and is still bound by law, so we need to take action as Order members in less legal matters."

"It really is time the Ministry allowed more operative freedom. Antiquated, old crocks the lot of them." Tonks wrinkled her nose.

"Unfortunately, there has been political campaigning to track Aurors' wands and location because of civilians that were harmed in past missions." Mad-Eye grunted with a sour look on his face. "We can't afford to give them more reason to rubber-stump that legislation. It could be a dangerous security risk, should the Death Eaters get hold of that kind of information. We know that the Ministry cannot be trusted to keep it safe."

"Lets focus on the matters at hand, Alastor," Dumbledore said, and the old Auror nodded in agreement.

Mad-Eye had miraculously been able to acquire a floor plan of the mansion of the former Minister for Magic. Millicent Bagnold had lived her retirement secluded, so her absence from public life had only been assessed as suspicious when Arthur Weasley had gotten hold of an unofficial contract negotiation to sign over her home to some shady real estate company. Of course, Arthur had immediately informed the Order, and they had called in a meeting to investigate the case.

"We don't know if Bagnold is still alive, but we are not holding high hopes," Mad-Eye said. "The purpose of this mission is to find a way inside the property and see if there is any Death Eater activity."

It reminded Remus of the first war where people had started to disappear, and how everything had felt like the sun had shifted a finger's breadth further away from their world, an unusual chill suffusing their minds and an impalpable but ever growing dread making itself known. He shivered involuntarily.

* * *

It had taken Remus and Tonks about half an hour to get past the wards and inside the Georgian mansion, and now they swiftly moved from room to room, looking for signs of any suspicious activity. The moment they had entered the building, Remus had known that it had been empty for some time. The obvious sign was the dust that covered everything from the bureau in the corner to the antique porcelain figures on the mantle of the fireplace, but—as witches and wizards tended to be less obsessed about cleanliness than Muggles in general—that didn't prove that the mansion was uninhabited. What was telling though, was the complete lack of human presence; Remus could _smell_ the desolation of this place.

When they had just reached the upper floor, there was a sudden shift in the atmosphere, alerting Remus' wolf-senses. They were no longer alone in the building. He swiftly moved over to Tonks, took hold of her arm and put a finger to her lips when she opened her mouth in surprise.

"We need to get out _now_ ," he whispered.

Remus swiftly covered the two of them with the invisibility cloak they had brought out of caution. It was only made for one person, so he pulled Tonks closer by her waist and ducked low so it would still cover their feet. Holding her wand in one hand and onto his arm with the other, Tonks applied slight pressure to indicate that she was ready to move. They had practiced this before and now moved with mirrored steps.

Remus hoped that they would be able to sneak past whoever had entered the mansion unnoticed, but of course it couldn't be that easy. He could feel Tonks tense up in nervousness and fall slightly out of step with him. He knew that she was an excellent Auror, but sometimes her jittery nature was uncontrollable. When she actually managed lose balance and catch herself on the keys of a Rrococo style piano, he could only wince at the disharmonious cord she struck.

Wasting no time, Remus pulled her along out of the room and to the stairs, only to rear back as they came face to face with two Death Eaters—clad in dark robes and masks like a textbook example.

"I heard the intruders up here," the one right in front of Remus said, turning his head left and right, apparently contemplating from behind which door the noise had sounded. They seemed suspiciously prepared—both with wands drawn and their masks covering their faces as if they had expected them.

Remus mentally thanked Mad-Eye for lending them his invisibility cloak for the mission, and he prayed that the Death Eaters wouldn't think of using _Homenum Revelio_ as he carefully pulled Tonks out of the way of the two Death Eaters. Unfortunately, they were blocking the main stairs, but with the floorplan in mind, Remus led Tonks to the other end of the corridor, where he knew was a second, narrower staircase hidden behind a hideous painting of a toothless werewolf.

Tonks and Remus slipped through the upper entrance, leaving the two Death Eaters behind them in the corridor and made their way down the stairs. They didn't dare removing the cloak, which proved to be a live safer when two more Death Eaters emerged at the lower end.

Remus and Tonks held their breath. They were already halfway down, and it was too late to turn back without being noticed.

Tonks pulled him to the side, where they stood pressed against the wall.

There was no way they would remain unnoticed, the stairwell was too narrow for three people next to each other, and the Death Eaters would definitely bump into them.

Remus' heart pumped wildly, and he became unnaturally aware of Tonks next to him. His arm was still around her waist to keep her close enough to fit them both under the invisibility cloak. Her body was radiating warmth, and Remus could hear the faint flutter of her heartbeat thanks to his heightened hearing sense. He forced himself to focus on the situation at hand and not get distracted by the way she leaned further into him as the Death Eaters came closer.

"Finally one of those Muggle-lovers fell for the traps," the left Death Eater said.

This confirmed Remus' suspicion that they had fallen for a cheap trick. Thus far, the Death Eaters had avoided direct confrontations, but this screamed open battle tactic. They obviously were trying to get rid of Order members one by one by luring them into an ambush; they would need to alert the Order!

The problem was, that Remus needed to figure a way out for the two of them first.

He pulled out his wand, ready to stun them quickly, when he felt Tonks moving next to him again. Just five steps away, one of the Death Eaters stopped with a groan.

"Darn, wait a sec."

The other turned around, having now reached their step. "Not again, Archibald! Can't you tie your laces right for once?"

"Let me just…" he bent down to retie his shoe laces, while the other Death Eater heaved an annoyed sigh and moved on past them. Remus mentally congratulated Tonks on her resourcefulness. She was undoubtedly an excellent Auror.

"Wait for a moment, will you?" Archibald called after him, stuffing the ends of his laces inside his shoes and hurried after his colleague, nearly brushing against Remus as he passed them.

Then they disappeared behind the painting of the toothless werewolf and Remus breathed with relief.

Tonks pulled him along until they had made it to the lower landing. Downstairs, however, they were confronted with the problem of getting past three more Death Eaters guarding the entrance. There was no way to Apparate within the wards, so they would need to get outside first.

Remus readied himself to create a distraction so Tonks would be able to get away, when she beat him to it and unceremoniously blasted the whole entrance away with a magnificent _Bombarda_. Remus wasted no time to run after Tonks out of the mansion and across the French garden towards the edge of the property. Thanks to the wolfblood pumping in his veins, he easily outran Tonks. Remus grabbed her hand and pulled her along faster as hell broke out behind them. He could hear at least a dozen Death Eaters coming after them, shouting hexes and curses.

That moment, Remus was genuinely frightened. He was frightened not for himself, but for Tonks, as they scampered across the low hedges, white pebbles blasting from underneath their feet with dark hexes they narrowly avoided.

Her sweaty hand in his, Remus pulled her across the border of the wards and immediately Disapparated.

When he felt the pull of Tonks' magic against his, all he could think was, _oh no_ , before the already uncomfortable sensation of being stretched and pressed through a tight space got unbearable, and he felt like he was being ripped apart. Tonks had obviously attempted to Apparate the same moment as him.

Remus gasped for breath as he landed painfully on his back. A terrible sting shot through his torso, and he wheezed like a carp out of water.

"Remus, I'm so sorry. Please don't be hurt!" Tonks face appeared in his line of sight, and for a moment he closed his eyes, thanking Babbitty Rabbitty and the wizard's Hopping Pot that she was alright.

"No, no, no," she whimpered. "Look at me you old wolf." She slapped him lightly, and Remus eyes short open again.

"Hey," he complained hoarsely.

"Don't 'hey' me!" She seemed strangely agitated, considering that they had just made it to safety and were both unharmed as far as Remus could tell—which in itself was a small miracle considering how quickly Apparition could go awry.

"I thought you were biting the dust," Tonks explained, and when he looked in her eyes, he saw the sweetest concern clouding them. Behind her, the setting sun poured the sky in a colourful mush of pinks and reds.

Tonks suddenly bent down, and her lips covered his.

* * *

After debriefing with Mad-Eye and informing him of the new tactic the Death Eaters were employing, Remus retreated into the small garden of Headquarters to breath the fresh night air and relax a little. He wanted to have some time to think. He was still overwhelmed by Tonks suddenly kissing him.

He didn't get much alone time as Tonks joined him a moment later, pressing a cold Butterbeer in his hands and sitting down on the cool ground beside him.

"You know, the first time I sat on my broom, I was scared beyond belief, but I'm probably the most reckless person I know. I never give up on something I really want; and when I clutched onto that broom, I really wanted to be able to fly, to soar through the sky and hunt down evil people like a real Auror." Tonks snorted at her own distorted childhood image of heroic Aurors fighting in aerial combats.

"I knew exactly what I wanted then," she said, looking at him from the side. "I know exactly what I want now, and if it means that I'm up for a bumpy flight, I'll be ready as soon as you are."

He was about to respond to her, to tell her not to waste herself on him, but she just patted him on the shoulder and then left him to stew in his thoughts.

So now there was someone demanding of him to make choices. Remus had been fine with not making any choice for his whole life. He had always known that there was no bright future waiting for him, no great career he could pursue, and no loving family he could have. He had been content with living his life on the sideline until the day he died.

 _Keep out of trouble, don't get involved._ That had been his mantra since forever.

Now, there was Nymphadora Tonks, and she demanded of him to change that, to actively decide what he was going to do with his life. She didn't make it any easier when she made very clear that he wasn't only making this decision for him, but for her as well.

Remus _yearned_ for someone to be there for him. Remus was lonely. He had been lonely as a kid, and then he'd had friends all of sudden. They had made his time at school the best years of his life.

Those best years hadn't lasted very long, however. He had just gotten comfortable in this new kind of life with happiness and the outlook onto some kind of future when everything had went downhill. Within a day, he had lost it all. On one single Halloween night, he had been thrown back to be that scared and lonely little kid he had been the first eleven years of his life.

Remus rubbed his eyes tiredly. What Tonks saw in him—he'd never understand. He was a psychological mess and a monster. She was young, _so young_ , she was pretty and full of life that seemed to have already left him long ago to barely scrape by. Still, she wanted him.

The world out there was a right mess, their mission had just proven how much more dangerous it was going to get from now on with Death Eaters no longer shying away from direct confrontations. Remus wished he could just bring everyone he cared for to a far away place and know them to be safe. He wasn't sure he could bear to lose anybody else, and now Tonks had made that fear much more prominent.

Remus stayed there, drinking his Butterbeer. His mind was haunted by past insecurities and lost opportunities, but his gaze was fixed upon the horizon behind the fence enclosing the garden of number twelve, Grimmauld Place. Far off in the distance, the sun started to rise. It illuminated the heavy clouds from behind, creating bright halos standing out against the dark thunder within them. Remus thought that maybe, just maybe, there was something for him out there. Far away from then and there, in a world following the darkness of war.

* * *

 **My first attempt at Remadora :) Thank you Noori, for helping me out! What would I do without your threats of haunting me to my own home if I don't finish my stories? :'D**

 **-o-**

 _This story was added to the Nautical 'Ship' Challenge post hoc._


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